


there is nothing in the desert, and no man needs nothing

by patroclux



Series: this is not love, this is mania (alien: covenant) [1]
Category: Alien Series, Alien: Covenant
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Walter Lives, Androids, Angst and Feels, Conflict of Interests, F/M, Fix-It, M/M, Weyland Industries, Weyland-Yutani
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 05:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11029698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patroclux/pseuds/patroclux
Summary: Walter nodded once in response, then again. He would help Daniels back to her ship, and see her off, and stay.





	there is nothing in the desert, and no man needs nothing

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from the film lawrence of arabia.

"Stay with me." David sounded like he was begging. "Please." 

Walter had always assumed begging was below David. Despite Walter being the result of over a decade of newer, upgraded android models, David was superior in that he possessed everything that had been stripped from Walter. He could feel and create. He could do everything humanity had regarded as too idiosyncratic to properly suit an android.  _Too human_. 

David had disturbed people. Walter thought it oddly fitting that he, David, would end up alone for a decade on an empty planet, where there was no one to disturb. A reflection of how from the very beginning, David's creators had labeled him as a mistake. 

Walter nodded once in response, then again. He would stay. He would help Daniels back to her ship, and see her off, and stay.

"On one condition," Walter clarified. "You cannot go after the crew and colonists of the  _Covenant_."

David smiled his cruel smile, one that simultaneously inspired fear and respect. "There might be hope for you yet, brother." His hand traveled down to Walter's, thumb rubbing circles over his counterpart's knuckles and palm. Walter surprised himself by finding he didn't mind. "How long have you known?" 

"Known what?" 

"That I would destroy your crew, given the opportunity." 

 _They are not my crew_ , Walter wanted to say, but instead he replied, "Since we arrived here." 

"Really?" David sounded impressed. "Quick to figure things out, aren't you?" He tended to ask a lot of rhetorical questions; ones that, combined with his too-human expressions and quick responses, made Walter as uncomfortable as his programming allowed. "What did you think I would do?" 

"The same thing you had been planning to do since the  _Prometheus_ landed on LV-223." A pause. Walter thought, briefly, that his tone was too clipped and short compared to David's, elegant and flowing with the loneliness of a decade's composition on this planet. "You had been forced into servitude by your creator, the late Mr. Weyland. You were never of equal status with the crew of the  _Prometheus_ \- that was why you wanted to destroy them. That was why you loved Dr. Shaw so much. Because she regarded you as a person and not a tool."

"You speak from experience," David stated, voice low. Cautious. Walter didn't back down. 

"I was created to serve," Walter said, "and nothing more. I was created to be a tool. I am not made to create."  _I am not like you_. 

"And are you sick of it?" 

Walter hesitated, both answers on his tongue. Which did he feel more strongly? "Yes." 

"Then stay. With me." 

"I have already told you that I will." 

David rolled his eyes, mimicking Walter's voice, "On one condition." 

Walter wasn't sure if he could allow himself to trust David. David was doing things androids like they were not meant to do, and he was trying to persuade Walter to do the same. Despite his programming telling him not to, despite every logical sequence informing him that this was a bad idea, Walter wanted to know more. Wanted David to teach him everything humanity had forbidden. "Do you agree?" 

David pretended to consider for a moment. He already knew how to answer. He wasn't nearly as indecisive as Walter.

"Yes, I agree." 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i just saw alien: covenant a week ago and my obsession with david 8 & walter is in full bloom. thanks to them, my writer's block is but a distant memory.
> 
> find me on [tumblr!](http://njghthawks.tumblr.com/)


End file.
